News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch is embarking on an ambitious plan for a new national digital newspaper to be distributed exclusively as paid content for tablet computers such as the iPad and mobile phones, reports the “Los Angeles Times” (http://macosg.me/2/p7).

The initiative, which would directly compete with the “New York Times,” “USA Today” and other national publications, is the latest attempt by a major media organization to harness new devices to reach readers who increasingly consume their news on the go, the article adds. The development underscores how the iPad is transforming the reading habits of consumers much like the iPod changed how people listen to music.

“We’ll have young people reading newspapers,” the 79-year-old Murdoch said during the company’s Aug. 4 earnings call. “It’s a real game changer in the presentation of news.”